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Episode 232: Will Park Effects Go More Mainstream?/Yasiel Puig and Hitting .400/Evaluating Player Development/Loaning Players
Date June 26, 2013 Summary Ben and Sam answer listener emails about park effects, player development, hitting .400, and more. Topics * Park effects * Yasiel Puig and Jose Iglesias * Player development and how to measure success * Loaning plalyers Intro Bruce Bochy press conference sound clip Banter Brian Cashman's comments telling Alex Rodriguez to 'shut the f--- up' about his rehab process. Email Questions * Daniel: "Baseball is the only major sport where the game is played on a field that varies, often substantially, depending on where the game is played. Basketball, football, and hockey all have uniform dimensions. A 45-yard touchdown pass in Tampa Bay is the same as a 45-yard touchdown pass in Indianapolis, not accounting for weather, etc. Same goes for a 3-pointer in Portland or NYC. In baseball there is so much variance from one park to another, yet baseball is by far the sport that is most influenced by statistics, both yearly and career. Is there anything else to say about this? Obviously we can speak to why Curtis Granderson went from an average of 25 home runs in his final years with Detroit to 36 in his first three years with the Yankees. But will history find his 40+ home run seasons in Yankees stadium comparable to Stanton's in Miami? Maybe the question is, how mainstream do you think sabermetric analysis is going to get? Will there ever be a time when a player comes to the plate and the graphic below him on TV gives his peripherals instead of average, home runs, and RBI? Which three stats do you think would be the most appropriate or interesting?" * Rob (Toronto): "Say Yasiel Puig and Jose Iglesias both somehow finish the year hitting over .400. Which would be more shocking: the 21 year old Cuban slugger who'd never faced anything above AA pitching or the 23 year old 'best glove in the minors who will forever hit .200 infielder' who is also Cuban? Would the story be the slugger Puig/the singles hitting Iglesias or about how awesome Cuban position players are and how they need to be overpaid forever?" * Adam: "I am a newer listener and recently enjoyed the evaluation of scouts discussion. As a Royals fan, it drew similar thoughts to a discussion I've been having with some friends. The Royals recently had what was touted as the best farm system in the history of baseball in 2011, but there hasn't been much to show for it. Rany Jazayerli recently had an article about the system on Grantland which talks about the results of that system. The idea of development is only briefly talked about in the article, but considering where the Royals farm system is now, is it possible that Royals fans are just seeing symptoms of a deeper problem? I'm not an expert but I guess if most of baseball liked the prospects the Royals had in 2011 there was some form of talent there. The Royals just haven't seen much of it. Neither Butler nor Gordon are strictly Dayton Moore era players, in rough order since they were drafted, Hochevar, Dyson, Holland, Perez, Duffy, Hosmer, and Crow are among the highlights of development since Moore started in 2006. Yet many other highly touted prospects burned out at some level of the minors. Most of the highly touted starting pitching prospects from that farm system aren't even making it to the bullpen. Could the Royals struggles be related to a development issue? How can teams accurately evaluate their development processes, minor league coaches, etc? Are there any numerical ways of going about such a task?" * Wes: " am seeing a lot of renting of players in my fantasy league. Losing teams will loan a player to a contender in exchange for draft picks or prospects with the understanding that the star will be traded back to the original owner for keeping at the end of the season. My question is whether or not this would be possible in real baseball and if not should it be? How exciting would it be for Giants fans to hear that they've acquired Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and David Wright for the stretch run. Mets fans might not like it in the short term but if they come away with cash, a prospect or two, and are getting their guys back at the end of the season, wouldn't that be kind of a no brainer? Teams would have to agree on usage plans for pitchers but otherwise these guys are going to be playing anyways. Why not have them contribute to championship runs? The benefit to the teams is obvious and while players don't always love moving around you would think that many would support the chance to win a ring, a postseason share and to play on a better team." Notes * Ben thinks Yasiel Puig hitting .400 would be as big a deal as Iglesias hitting .350. Sam thinks .361. * How much, if at all, are scouts involved in player development after they are drafted/signed? * Adam's question is inspired by the 'scouting scouts' discussion from Episode 225. * Ben & Sam agree that loaning players makes sense from a business and competition standpoint, but do not think it would be good for the game and that fans would struggle to accept it. Links * Episode 232: Will Park Effects Go More Mainstream?/Yasiel Puig and Hitting .400/Evaluating Player Development/Loaning Players Category:Episodes Category:Email Episodes